“Doesn’t your mother still live there?”

“Yes. With a disordered mind and too many ghosts.”

“Tai Hang is your village now. You should honour it.”

What man gave his first son to another village? Was there something wrong with Tak-Wing that Lee didn’t know about? Tak-Wing was a little full of himself, though Lee had seen worse. Was Cheung trying too hard to be modern, letting the lovestruck girl drive the decision? Or perhaps he was offering Tak-Wing out of true loyalty and a belief that promises, especially those made long ago, must be kept.

Lee decided he would let Cheung, as the father of the sons in question, take the lead.

Cheung wished the final decision of who should marry whom didn’t fall upon his shoulders. If it wasn’t possible to make everyone happy, he could at least do what was best for the family. Someone would be upset with him no matter what he did. He must think of the future. To hell with everyone’s petty desires. They would grow out of them. Finally, he said, “Best if my older son, Tak-Wing, marries your esteemed daughter, Lee Ting-Yan. I’m a modern person. Sometimes a woman must get what she wants.”

“Are you sure? Are you asking me to send her to Tai Hang? I would for your sake, Brother.”

“No. Tak-Wing will go to Chek Keng, since you so generously offer to make him head of household there. I’ll keep Tak-Tam here at Tai Hang. He’s young. There’s time to find him a bride elsewhere.”

“He seems to dote on Ting-Yan, though,” said Lee. “And he’s a grown man now, no longer a pesky little kid. Are you sure this is the best decision?”

Ting-Yan continued to chatter about dogs, cats, and who knows what else as she and Tak-Tam chopped vegetables to go with the rice and fish. Tak-Tam listened attentively, laughed, and nodded.

“I’m sure,” said Cheung. “Ting-Yan should not marry a man she doesn’t want. Tak-Wing will do as I say, and his old love for her will return. He’s just going through a period of youthful stupidity. Remember what we were like at his age? He will see that this is right.”

The more Lee thought about it, the more awkwardly Cheung’s decision struck him. Still, it was not Lee’s place to call the shots on this one. Aloud he said, “If it’s what you want and what Ting-Yan wants, then I am happy.”

Cheung said, “We’ll celebrate at Tai Hang tonight. And in the morning, I will talk to my wife about the luckiest date for the wedding.”